3 years agoSt. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington will look to continue his great playoff campaign with another victory against Colorado on Saturday. The 28-year-old has been rock-solid since taking over the crease, going 4-1 with a 1.75 goals-against average and a .948 save percentage. He's so far saved 81 of 85 shots in the series against the Avalanche. It's been a great story with Binnington, as he had lost nine consecutive postseason starts before replacing Ville Husso in Game 4 of the first-round series against Minnesota and cruising to a 5-2 victory. Colorado has been very tough to stop all year, but St. Louis will have a great chance to do it if Binnington keeps up his impressive play.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoEdmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl made the biggest impact in Friday's 5-3 victory over Calgary, finishing with his seventh goal of the playoffs and two assists. That's now back-to-back three-point efforts for Draisaitl, who is reportedly playing through a leg injury. He's still logging big minutes despite the injury and ate up 23:16 Friday night, so maybe his issue isn't very serious after all. The German finds himself on a five-game point streak ahead of Sunday's Game 3 against the Flames. Draisaitl has managed 15 points in total in the playoffs in just nine games. Only teammate Connor McDavid has managed more (20).--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoCarolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho factored in both goals in Friday's 2-0 win over the Rangers, reaching 43 career playoff points, which puts him tied with Eric Staal for most postseason points in franchise history. Aho set up Brendan Smith for a short-handed game-winner and netted an empty-netter right before the buzzer. He now boasts 18 goals and 25 assists in 43 career appearances in the playoffs. Aho has totaled four goals and four assists in nine postseason outings this year, scoring in back-to-back games. His line with Teuvo Teravainen and Seth Jarvis has been one of the best in the playoffs, and the Rangers have plenty of thinking to do on how to shut down the trio.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoCarolina Hurricanes goaltender Antti Raanta picked up his first Stanley Cup Playoffs shutout on Friday, pushing away 21 pucks in a 2-0 victory over the Rangers. He didn't face a lot of work, but this was still an impressive performance from Raanta, who has started the second-round series by saving an incredible 48 of 49 shots. Carolina's goalie situation seemed worrying when Frederik Andersen (lower body) was ruled out at the start of the playoffs, but Raanta has come in and played superbly. He's gone 5-2 with a 1.83 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoCalgary Flames winger Johnny Gaudreau is riding a six-game point streak ahead of Friday's Game 2 against Edmonton. Calgary's scoring was very inconsistent in the first round against Dallas, but Gaudreau finished pointless just once in the seven-game series and he started the second round with a three-point effort. Combined with the regular season, the silky winger has now tallied 11 points in five games against the Oilers this season. He's averaged 1.44 points per game at home throughout the campaign and will look to make noise at the Saddledome again Friday night.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoEdmonton Oilers defenseman Tyson Barrie will be in the lineup in Game 2 against the Flames on Friday despite missing the morning skate. It's been reported that Barrie is feeling a bit under the weather and that's the reason why he wasn't on the ice in the morning. The 30-year-old had a great finish to the regular season with 10 points in April, but he hasn't made a big impact offensively in the playoffs, logging only three points in eight games. Barrie skates on the third defensive pairing but sees time on the top power-play unit. Edmonton has had a solid 30.4-percent power play in the playoffs, so Barrie actually finds himself in a good situation to boost his scoring numbers.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Derek Wills

3 years agoEdmonton Oilers goaltender Mike Smith will get another start in Game 2 against Calgary. Head coach Jay Woodcroft is keeping faith in the veteran despite Smith having started off the series with a shocker. He lasted just six minutes in Game 1, giving up three goals on 10 shots. Smith's postseason has been full of up and downs as he's registered a 4-3 record. Game 1 was very rough for him, but Smith has actually been pretty effective with his work in the playoffs, recording a 2.68 goals-against average with a .930 save percentage and two shutouts.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com

3 years agoColorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon picked up a power-play assist in Thursday's 4-1 loss to St. Louis, extending his point streak to six games. The 26-year-old superstar started the postseason with a three-point effort and he's yet to go pointless in this year's playoffs, tallying five goals and three assists. Five of his points have come on the power play and MacKinnon has been a very busy man in the offensive zone with 40 shots. Colorado's No. 29 sits on 77 points through 56 career postseason appearances, so he really seems to enjoy the big occasion.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoSt. Louis Blues winger David Perron had two goals as the team evened up the second-round series against Colorado with a 4-1 win on Thursday. He scored his first one, which ended up being the game-winning goal, on the power play inside the final minute of play in the second period and grabbed his second in the middle of the third. Perron became the first Blues player with seven goals through eight games played in the playoffs since Shayne Corson in 1996. It's been a big playoff year for Perron with 11 points, although he continues to blow hot and cold, having boosted his tally in just four games.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoFlorida Panthers forward Claude Giroux finished Thursday's 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay with an assist, posting his eighth postseason point in eight games for the team. Ray Sheppard (10) and Stu Barnes (9) are the only players in franchise history to register more points in their first eight playoff games with the team. Giroux boasts three goals and five assists with 15 shots and a plus-six rating. He's been a big addition to the Panthers offense, although it's worth noting that the veteran forward grabbed five of his points during a two-game stretch at the end of the first round.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoTampa Bay Lightning forward Ross Colton provided very late drama in Game 2 against Florida on Thursday, scoring a 2-1 game-winner with just four seconds remaining in regulation. He was on target with his second shot of the game and also recorded two hits in 13:25 of ice time. Colton has had a habit of popping up with goals and he now leads the team with five markers this postseason. The 25-year-old has also picked up two assists in nine games.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoSt. Louis Blues defenseman Marco Scandella (lower body) continued to skate Thursday morning but won't be in action in Game 2 against the Avalanche. The 32-year-old has featured in just two games in the playoffs and last played in Game 4 against Minnesota in the first round. He went pointless and registered a minus-three rating, so things have been pretty rough for Scandella. His next chance to return comes on Saturday, although it sounds like head coach Craig Berube isn't ready to put Scandella back in until he's 100 percent healthy again, and that might take a while.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Lou Korac

3 years agoSt. Louis Blues winger Pavel Buchnevich will move to the first line for Thursday's Game 2 against Colorado. He will skate with Ryan O'Reilly and David Perron. This is a completely new line that hasn't logged a single minute of action together this season, so it will be interesting to see how things work out. Buchnevich had a nice 76-point regular season but hasn't yet hit his stride in the playoffs, bagging four points in seven games. Brayden Schenn will drop down from the top line to make up another completely new trio with Vladimir Tarasenko and Ivan Barbashev.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Lou Korac

3 years agoFlorida Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe (undisclosed) is a game-time decision for Thursday's clash with Tampa Bay after leaving the morning skate early. Panthers head coach Andrew Brunette has said that Carter Verhaeghe is dealing with a similar issue that made him a game-time decision for Game 6 in the first round against Washington. Verhaeghe ended up playing that night and had a big game with two points, including the game-winning goal in overtime. He's been the most prolific Panther this postseason with 12 points, and it will likely take something very serious for the team to consider sitting him. Florida's attack is already without Mason Marchment (lower body).--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Erin Brown

3 years agoTampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point (lower body) will remain sidelined for Thursday's Game 2 against the Panthers. He is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury that he suffered in the final game against Toronto in the first round. Nick Paul has taken over as the second-line center, and he's had a good time with three points in two games. He's also on the second power-play unit and seems like a very good option for DFS action. Tampa scored three goals with the man advantage in Tuesday's series opener.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Tom Gulitti